I work as a retoucher at my day job, so I’d say that I know a few things about Photoshop. So when I came across Paul Hollingworth’s images, I was really excited to see his awesome use of Photoshop. Paul is a photographer and graphic designer, and the images above are taken from a project he started called WE LOVE TO BUILDâ„¢.

He takes bits and pieces and portions of photos and sews up all nice and pretty with photo shop to create some really large, amazing images. I actually cropped into the photos above so that they would turn out larger on my site, they are actually much more epic. His photos are also quite beautiful as well, so be sure to check out all of the work he has on Flickr.

While Jeff and I were in New York over Thanksgiving we stopped by the Met to walk around, as we didn’t have enough to to really enjoy it the last time we were there. We didn’t really know where we were going in the museum, so wandered around randomly, finally stumbling upon this amazing Kara Walker “mini-exhibit”. I’m not really sure what these pieces were for, they were placed in a random hallway. People kept walking by as I took pictures and I kept thinking how stupid they were for not stopping to enjoy her artwork. This also made me not feel so bad when Jeff and I left the Whitney, not wanting to pay to see her exhibit there.

There were about 15 pieces total, and I’ve posted a ton of them under the cut. Enjoy!

When I hear the phrase “green architecture” I usually tend to wince a little bit, because it also brings to mind the word “green-washing”, or how people and businesses make things seem like their good for the environment. But when I see buildings like the one designed for fashion retailer Ann Demeulemeester, it brings a smile to my face.

The building was designed by Korean architects Mass Studies, who did an absolutely beautiful job. I’m not sure how environmentally this building is exactly, but I love the idea of having a house surrounded by plants. I could imagine the air smelling so much more fresh all the time. The plants don’t only grow on the outside of the building either, they are also continued through the space as well. The contrast between the bright green plants and the pale concrete and white walls is pretty amazing.

The trailer above is for the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, and so far it’s looking amazing. Chris Nolan, the director of the masterpiece Memento, took over the Batman series with the last movie and this one looks equally as impressive.

The Joker is the new villain in this one, played by Heath Ledger, and captive mother Katie Holmes is no longer around, in her place is the much better Maggie Gyllenhaal. The action looks pretty amazing, it’s shot gritty and real, and I think that Heath Ledger is going to do a great job as the Joker. Less silly 80’s and much more unbalanced and sadistic.

I didn’t do a Last Week in Music last week because of all the busyness of last week, but it’s back, and still not counting everything I listened to. I had Yo La Tengo on for most of the day yesterday, and it didn’t register at all. Maybe it’ll shop up next week, though above it clearly says that yesterday was counted as one of the days.

Anyhow, I did listen to Beach House’s new album Devotion quite a lot, and it’s actually really great. I liked their last album a lot, but I think this one surpasses it. It seems less morose and more musically exciting. At least on some songs.

I was in Secret Headquarters a couple of weeks ago, grabbing my weekly stash of comic books, and wandered over to the table at the center of the room where they often have cool art books. I immediately stopped when I saw the cover to the book above.

“Colonel Sweeto? What the hell is this book about, and why is it in my comic book shop?”, I thought immediately. I looked around at first, not really wanting anyone to see that I was about to open this candy-colored abomination, and then began to flip through the pages. I got to the first strip, which featured a young boy being punched in the stomach, but then being aided by unicorns, who impaled the attacker, getting the sweet punishment he deserved.

It turns out it was written by a guy named Nicholas Gurewitch, who writes the comic strip ‘The Perry Bible Fellowship‘, which is usually full of things you aren’t supposed to laugh about, but of course you do because you have a weird and sick sense of humor. The book is a collection of the strips, and is absolutely hysterical. I read every single page within 10 minutes, laughing my ass off the whole time.

Thursday night I had planned on meeting up with friend Garrett after he had left work. He called me around 9 and I grabbed my phone and answered. I flipped open the 2.5 year old RAZR, and noticed immediately that the screen didn’t come on. I sat there kind of confused at first, and closed it again to look at the back screen. It too was not glowing.

Cut to me doing all those tricks people do when their phone dies; I took the battery out, cleaned the pocket lint from the corners, shook and screamed at it. I opened and pressed the buttons, and the tiny light behind them lit up, they made noises, yet still the screen didn’t respond. I realized that the time had finally come that I needed a new phone, out of pure necessity.
Friday morning I woke up excited, knowing that I was heading to the Apple store promptly at 10 am when they opened, knowing full and well I was going to be buying the iPhone I have so dearly wanted for the last six months.

After about 3 days with it, I can honestly say it’s the best phone I’ve ever owned. Earlier today, I got lost trying to meet up with some friends. But I had Google Maps ready to help me, which I definitely needed. The location was set near an overpass that had at least six ways you could before you took it. It didn’t make a bit of sense. But one look at the tiny electronic map and I knew what to do.

I’ve also been able to text faster then I ever could. I thought it would take me a while to get the hang of it, but the iPhone senses where you’ve been typing, by magic or jedi powers I’m sure, and automatically sticks in the word you were trying to spell, even if you only managed to type three of the six letters correctly.

Going from a RAZR to the iPhone is an amazing step, like I’ve been thrown into the future. And for anyone who thinks differently than I do, I’d say you need to actually have it on you for a few days to truly enjoy it. Pretending to play with in the Apple store, when you’ve already cursed it, certainly doesn’t count.

I know that it hasn’t been that long, but it feels like I haven’t posted in weeks. This last week of work felt especially long, with some intense days at work, shopping for X-Mas presents, getting my apartment ready for Jeff’s visit… and reading tons and tons of Harry Potter. Jeff bought the books for me a little bit before the seventh one came out, and so I decided to start reading them. Summer came along, and I was doing well, but then got caught here in Kitsune Noir-ville.

Well, Harry Potter has managed to magic (har) it’s way back into my heart, and has stolen me away from, the interweb. I finished book five earlier today, thens started to read book six, and finished that around 11:15 pm. I’ve never been so delighted by a series of books, and my only regret is having asked Jeff about the things that happened in the books.

Anyhow, that’s where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing, and I’m going to get back on track soon-ish, though the holidays are coming, and I may disappear for a little while because of them. But until then, I’ll try and give 120% back into this lovely home I call a blog. Or would it be the other way around?